Despite a less-than-stellar showing at the box office – competing with Iron Maiden’s San Bernardino bash on the same night didn’t help – both bands served up sets that further cement their legacies and easily rank among the loudest local performances in a long time.

Alice immediately established its tone with a production latent with abstract imagery, ranging from psychedelic to ominous, across a massive collection of flat screens. Jerry Cantrell’s guitar work, standing out from the get-go via the 1992 classic “Them Bones,” provided the kind of crunch best described as pulverizing.

Blending together original, Layne Staley-era staples with current, William DuVall-led gems, the group’s collection played out immaculately, and as they charged ahead with more recent material like “Hollow” and “Check My Brain,” the volume in the amphitheater grew palpably heavy. Thunderous chords like those in the latter song – a modern-classic riff that provokes passionate reactions similar to the starts of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” or Slayer’s “South of Heaven” – could be felt in the chest of fans sitting high up at Verizon.

Just a week before the kickoff of the fourth annual Uproar Festival early last month in Scranton, Pa., heavy rock headliners Alice in Chains were hard at work figuring out the perfect combination of tracks for its nightly sets.

Guitarist, primary lyricist and founding member Jerry Cantrell says the guys – including singer William DuVall, drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Inez – have been toying with three varied lists during rehearsals. Each rundown would be bolstered by new cuts from the band’s May release, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, the first AIC album in four years and its second with DuVall, replacement for the late Layne Staley, who died in 2002.

“Unfortunately, just one of the downsides of playing a festival is we have a limited amount of time,” Cantrell explained during a phone chat. “So we’re fitting in two or three songs off the new record, a couple off the last one (2009’s Black Gives Way to Blue), and then we’re going to try to cover the rest of our career in 75 minutes.

“It’s a bit of a chore, but there are some obvious songs that people want to hear every time we play.”

Last month Kid Rock proved just how successful greatly discounting concert tickets can be. He priced virtually all seats for his Verizon Wireless Amphitheater bash with Kool & the Gang and Uncle Kracker at an all-in rate of $20, and rapidly sold out the place because of it.

Now organizers behind the Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival, which brings Jane's Addiction and Alice in Chains to the same Irvine venue on Sept. 13, are attempting something similar -- at least for three days.

Starting this evening (technically at 5 p.m.), reserved seats for the event will cost only $20 while lawn spots will go for just $10 -- although the way it works out with service fees included, it's actually $25 for seats, $12 for lawn. Still a good deal. The promotion ends 72 hours later, Sunday at 5 p.m.

Post-Coachella: It’s a well-established tradition that the morning after the festival ends, big shows from some of its top players get announced. Frankly, I’m surprised to not see certain ones so far – a full-blown West Coast Postal Service tour seems imminent.

UPDATE: And the next morning it was revealed: The Postal Service will play July 23-24 at the Greek Theatre, plus July 20 at Santa Barbara Bowl and July 21 at San Diego State's Open Air Theatre. All shows go on sale this weeekend. More details soon.

But there are at least two acts headed to the Hollywood Bowl, where Vampire Weekend appears Sept. 28 (that oughta be terrific) and the xx turns up Sept. 29 (that oughta be mesmerizing). Zach Condon’s group Beirut joins the former bill, while Oregonian electro outfit Chromatics should be a perfect complement to their English counterparts on the latter night.

•Doheny Blues Festival: The lineup for the 16th annual weekend gathering, May 18-19 at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, has fallen into place. Topping the roster is the new pairing of jam-rocker Ben Harper and blues harmonica great Charlie Musselwhite (their Stax album Get Up! arrives next week), along with the first fest appearance from jaw-dropping virtuoso Joe Bonamassa in three years.

Also in the mix are several Doheny Blues veterans: the uplifting pedal-steel soul of Robert Randolph & the Family Band, belters Marcia Ball and Shemekia Copeland, guitarists Sonny Landreth and Cindy Cashdollar, Zydeco star Terrance Simien, the return of the James Hunter Six and more. Only weekend passes are currently on sale, $100 for general admission, $225 for VIP. More acts are expected to be announced through March.

• The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: As you might have noticed when the 2013 inductees were revealed, the HoF is finally bringing its 28th annual ceremony west and opening it up to the public, April 18 at Nokia Theatre. Tickets, $75-$750, are on sale now for American Express card-holders. Hall of Fame and Museum and fan club sales start Jan. 28, with the general on-sale starting Feb. 1. The ceremony airs a month later on HBO.

Who will induct whom? John Mayer and Gary Clark Jr. will play in tribute to Albert King, with Mayer giving the speech. Don Henley will salute Randy Newman. Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Hudson will perform in honor of Donna Summer. And Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters will celebrate the awesomeness of Rush. No word who will give praise to Public Enemy, Heart, Lou Adler or Quincy Jones.

September 22nd, 2011, 2:15 pm by KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

In its inaugural year, Epicenter was all the rage. When the budding rock show's almost true-good-to-be-true lineup was revealed in mid-2009 – topped by acts like Tool, Alice in Chains, Linkin Park and Wolfmother – there was great excitement surrounding this start-up festival.

The initial event, created by Gary Spivack of Right Arm Entertainment (also responsible for the annual Rock on the Range festival in Ohio), was held at the Pomona Fairplex and drew a crowd of nearly 35,000. Following that success, the second year was even more anticipated, prompting fake fliers boasting unlikely rosters to be posted and shared on social networking sites, similar to what happens each spring with Coachella.

The downsizing of this year's installment, then, was somewhat expected yet also a bit of a throwback shock, given the straight-up rock-of-the-'90s lineup that has been put together. It's capped by Limp Bizkit, the rap-rock outfit (fronted by Fred Durst, above) that had been off the radar for the better part of a decade, plus sets from Staind, Papa Roach (a repeat from last year's event), Buckcherry, Puddle of Mudd, P.O.D. and Everlast.

Even the venue size has been reduced, as Epicenter settles in this Saturday at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine.

Yes, of course we were on hand in Inglewood Friday night to witness the mighty Southern California return of Soundgarden after 15 years away. Wouldn't have missed it for the world, and they more than lived up to expectations with a lengthy, career-spanning set that touched on all five albums in their catalog (even their 1988 SST debut Ultramega OK) while concentrating heavily on the grunge-defining ones that matter most to longtime fans, 1991's Badmotorfinger and 1994's Superunknown.

Chris Cornell was in superb voice, Kim Thayil surely must be the most underrated guitarist the Seattle scene unleashed, bassist Ben Shepherd was as rock-solid as ever, and Matt Cameron, finely honed from years of anchoring Pearl Jam, remains one of the most astonishing drummers in action. He effortlessly bashes his way through polyrhythmic grooves and tricky time signatures that Dave Grohl would have to practice plenty to perfect. (Wonder what he thought of Cameron's pounding when he apparently opted to leave the rest of Foo Fighters at the soundboard - along with Alice in Chains, Marilyn Manson and other famous friends - and instead go hurl himself into a mosh pit near the edge of the stage.)

I've got more to say - haven't gotten to the part when PJ's Mike McCready made a surprise appearance to wail on "Superunknown." And, yes, there will be a fuller review. Just as soon as time and brain power allow.

Rather than push on into the night and rush something onto the blog, I've decided to tackle such a significant moment in local rock history with fresh eyes and rejuvenated synapses come Sunday morning. But there's no reason to wait to see David Hall's photos, which you can view by clicking here or on the pic of Cornell above. Also, get a gander of the setlist below.

Epicenter, the annual event that bills itself as Southern California's Rock Festival, will be back a third time. But it's once again undergoing changes.

Seems odd to think of a venture that has already hosted Tool, Linkin Park, Eminem and Kiss as still gestating, but the evolution of this idea has produced three completely different festivals of scope and size.

Response was strong and there was reason to expand -- so they did last September, presenting a weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana (even closer to ground zero for Cal Jam) with a half-punk, half-whatever mix. Day 1 mismatched a fierce, hungry Eminem with a bloated, boring Kiss, plus Big Boi, Papa Roach and a reunited Bush, among others. Day 2 stacked up a roster we've seen a lot of since: Blink-182, Rise Against, Bad Religion.

Seemed like another mild success. So it's curious that Epicenter isn't expanding or even maintaining for Round 3 -- it's retracting and relocating.

March 16th, 2011, 12:30 am by KELLI SKYE FADROSKI, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

At a time when it seems the local music scene is dominated by soft indie rock, Railroad to Alaska is not kicking back quietly. The heavy rock quartet has been storming stages consistently around the county for just over a year and was able to garner enough attention to score best new band at this year's OC Music Awards, held earlier this month at City National Grove of Anaheim.

Vocalist and guitarist Justin Suitor and drummer Derek Eglit first met while attending Oceanview High School in Huntington Beach. In early 2009 they joined forces with bassist Justin Morales and guitarist Jeff Lyman to play a one-time gig for a friends' art show opening. They haven't stopped since.

The moniker Railroad to Alaska was something Suitor had played under while creating music solo. The band used the title when it performed its first gig, and "we kept (it)," he explains, "because at a certain point it felt like we couldn't change it -- and no one was particularly displeased with it."

It's meant as "a political metaphor for subversion and conspiracy -- just a place where they take political prisoners who don't abide by society's rules. So we stuck with it. We've got pretty subtle nuances in all of our music that we back to that (idea) -- it's not in the forefront, we're not a political band necessarily, but there are those messages in the music.”

Early on, Suitor says, the band's sound was influenced by acts like Alice in Chains, but as they've grown as individuals and musicians, so has their musical tastes. “We all have quite a different musical spread. Now, for me, it's probably Cave In; that's most prevalent to me. I know that Justin is into Tool. Derek likes Gojira. Jeff likes the Mars Volta. We've all got a different take on it, but it's all stuff that has a harder edge.”

The pre-telecast ceremony for the 53rd annual Grammy Awards was already running late and long by the time its third hour rolled in. But that wasn't gonna keep Mavis Staples from talking for however long she liked.

She more than deserved to take her sweet time -- and get a standing ovation from the crowd of nominees. After more than a half-century of making music, the gospel legend, 71, finally won her first Grammy, a rather astounding fact when you consider how many classic recordings she and the Staple Singers have contributed over the years.

"Oh, Lord, this Grammy took a long time coming," she said tearfully, "but I'm grateful. It was worth the wait."

Staples was selected for best Americana album, for her excellent set You Are Not Alone, produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy -- whom she thanked, naturally, though her biggest praise (after God) was for her father, Roebuck "Pops" Staples. "You laid the foundation and I am still working on the building."

Also experiencing a first was Neil Young. The two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer technically snagged his first statuette last year, but that was merely as one of three art directors behind his behemoth Neil Young Archives Vol. I (1963-1972), which was named best boxed or special limited edition package.